The Mysterious and Eerie Villa Ceravolo

The first thing you notice when climbing over the stone wall is the silence. The property is blanketed from sounds of the outside world by a canopy of trees. You might as well be stepping back in time.

You've entered Villa Ceravolo, something of a local secret in Calabria. I (Su) first saw pictures of this crumbling but regal mansion on Instagram and knew I had to explore it.

If you love history and mysteries, this is a must for your Calabrian vacation!

A (Once) Grand Entrance

A short walk from the road, you'll be on the property of what was once a magnificent home to several families (first the Staglianò family and then the Rauti and Ceravolo clans). The path to the house is well-worn. Clearly Insta lovers and teens looking for a roost still visit.

As you approach the house, which hides its grandeur until you're right upon it, you'll see a handful of crumbling brick pillars choked by vines. To the left, abandoned aviaries large enough for a crowd sit, the birds having long flown away.

On the right side of the property, you'll see a surprisingly large swimming pool. Now full of leaves and debris, you can imagine the families that once lived here splashing beneath the mural painted on the pool wall.

Not Haunted, Just Forgotten

If you've read Stephen King books or watched the movies, you might feel a frisson of fear as you timidly step into the ground level of the home. Old couches and tables crumble in every room, victims of the elements.

There are signs that others have been there. Beer bottles, space heaters, mattresses. Yet there are no bloodstains. No fingernail marks on the walls. This place, as eerie as it is, isn't haunted.

It's sad.

It feels like an abandoned child who longs to be loved again. The sunroom upstairs still has tiled art on the walls (difficult for vandals to remove, and yet there's a feeling of respect, as if would-be hooligans didn't want to mar the decaying beauty). The sun raps on the windows, but with the vines that have taken over outside, it can't get in.

Each room whispers memories. You can imagine a glowing fire in the fireplace flanked by two statues. You can envision a man reading a book by the fire, perhaps its most famous tenant, Mario Ceravolo, a well-known politician and doctor who lived there in the early 1900s.

You can almost hear the footsteps of sleepy children being prodded up the stairs to go to bed. Smell the elaborate meals. See the lively salons where the intelligentsia of the time would discuss politics.

No, this house is not haunted. It's just been lost to time.

There's little written about this site, which is strange, since so many are fascinated by it. This is the only article (in Italian) I could find with any real information, but it doesn't say when the house was built, just that it was once part of a small village.

And maybe it's a strange thing to say, but I sense the house likes it when we talk about it. When we post hauntingly beautiful photos of its innards on social media. When we marvel that anything was ever so breathtaking.

Because homes have souls. This one definitely does. So if you go, treat it with respect.